During this week's Angelus, the pope reflected on Sunday's Gospel, in which Jesus instructed not to reduce God's law to simply complying with formal norms. He used homicide, adultery, and swearing as examples.
He acknowledged that insulting is obviously not as serious as killing, but that they each have the same root of evil.
POPE FRANCIS
'Insulting: we are used to insulting, it is like saying, â??Good morning.â?? And that is on the same line as killing. Anyone who insults his brother kills his brother in his heart. Please, do not insult! We earn nothing by doing so.â?
Regarding adultery, he said that just as one reaches murder with offenses and insults, adultery is reached after feeding intentions to possess a woman.
POPE FRANCIS
'He who looks with a possessing spirit at a woman who is not his own is an adulterer in his heart, he has begun to go down the road to adultery. Let us think a little on this: on the bad thoughts that are in this line.â?
Pope Francis also said that swearing is to exploit God's authority for our own affairs. Instead, he proposes to foster a climate of trust and transparency, so that is isn't necessary to appeal to another to be believed.
It was a sunny Sunday, and there were more people than usual in the square. And, as he does every week, the Pope bid them goodbye wishing them a good Sunday and a nice lunch.
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